To Catch a Predator

[Reavant]

Originally Posted by Zeeboe The kid wouldn't have done anything if the decoy hadn't egged him on. He wasn't following a 13-year old home from school for Pete's sake. So now the tax payers have to pay tens of thousands of dollars to keep a generally harmless boy in jail? Insane. Let's stick to what really matters. Richer is no "computer predator" or "pedophile". I love "To Catch a Predator", but the show sometimes did messed up stuff for the sake of ratings, including ruining the life of a student. I bet you anything those cops wouldn't be acting like it was a deranged serial killer coming out of the house if those cameras weren't on. They did it for the sake of entertainment. (The screaming, and the tackling, with tazers out.) Richer was living at home with his parents, he was a freshmen in college, and he wasn't even old enough to buy booze. I don't consider people fully grown adults until they are at least 21. 19 is stll a teenager. Does that Richer kid need some help? Yes, and I hope he's getting it. But is he worthy of being locked away in prison, having his life ruined, and being branded a sex offender for the rest of his life? No, not in my book. Obviously in yours. But I'd rather have my tax dollars go to placing real criminals behind bars, not lonely internet geek's or bored young men.

First of all, more often than not these cases dont end up in prison/jail time.

I guess youve never seen a cop do his thing before... they come running out like that with tasers drawn when a drunk guy is kicked out of a bar and is yelling.

Just because you need to be 21 to drink doesnt mean your not an adult. The LAW says you are an adult at 18 so just because you still sonsider him a teenager, your consideration is meaningless.